Chapter 40 Late at Night

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"Hmm? What's this complete mess?" Li Huowang, with a slight frown, walked into the forest where the fool lingered.

No sooner had he entered the forest, Li Huowang's pupils shrank as he saw the fool and the old beggar crouched in front of a small mound, greedily devouring something.

Atop the small mound were a few pieces of yellow paper, firmly held down by a stone.

Suppressing his anger, Li Huowang strode over and kicked the fool to the ground, "Get up! You dare to eat the food for the dead? Have you lost your mind? Didn't I tell you not to talk to this beggar?"

The fool scrambled up, looking aggrieved. "I didn't... didn't... I didn't talk to him."

"Kneel down! Apologize immediately by kowtowing!" Li Huowang commanded sternly.

After watching the fool vigorously kowtow several times toward the grave mound, Li Huowang reached out and pulled him up forcefully.

This damned place had all sorts of things, and he didn't dare to gamble, in case things went wrong immediately.

With a "clang," Li Huowang drew the longsword from behind him, pointing it straight at the old beggar's nose. He said coldly, "Whatever your aim is, stay away from my people! Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Without waiting for the man to respond, Li Huowang, pulling the fool along, turned and left.

"I'm not a beggar, I'm a monk," the man muttered under his breath, continuing to squat there and eat the offerings for the deceased.

Back on the road, the group resumed their journey. Li Huowang's expression was solemn as he started advising the others. "Don't sleep too soundly for the next few nights, there might be trouble."

Although the fool had already kowtowed and admitted his mistake, who knew what temper the thing in the grave had; he didn't dare to gamble.

Hearing Li Huowang's words, the others immediately understood and nodded slightly.

As the sun set, darkness fell, and the travelers entered the nearby forest to gather firewood.

Surrounded by two donkey carts, Li Huowang made sure the bonfire was blazing strong and also had others chop plenty of firewood in the forest.

There was no moon tonight, and all around was pitch black—the branches around them swaying with the breeze seemed as if numerous things were hidden among them, peering at the people around the fire.

As time went by, the surroundings gradually became quiet, and the others fell asleep.

But Li Huowang didn't sleep; he was quiet as if waiting for something.

Beyond the forest surrounding him, he was mostly preoccupied with thoughts of the old beggar.

If that thing were to come after them, it would surely target him first.

If it came, even better, he could also take this opportunity to figure out what was going on with that guy.

Through a long wait, the first half of the night passed, and it was now the latter half, the time when it was easiest to fall asleep.

"Li... Brother Li, over there... was there just a face?" asked Gouwa, who was keeping watch with him, his voice trembling slightly.

Li Huowang looked quickly, but he saw nothing in the darkness.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a very low voice.

Gouwa swallowed hard. "Not sure, it might... it might have been my eyes playing tricks on me."

"Don't talk, be quiet," Li Huowang pretended to stare at the bonfire in front of him, glancing surreptitiously in that direction from the corner of his eye.

After a silent wait, by the faint light of the fire, he saw an ugly face slowly emerging from the darkness, a cruel smile on its face.

But what made Li Huowang's scalp tingle was that behind the head, more heads slowly appeared, and streaks of white light flickered below them intermittently.

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"Wait, a white light?" Li Huowang suddenly stood up and grabbed a burning stick from the campfire to throw it. "Halt! Who are you!"

Li Huowang's shout, like a thunderclap in the quiet environment, woke up everyone else who had been sleeping.

When the rolling stick landed beneath those heads and he saw that the heads had feet and shadows, Li Huowang immediately realized that they were living people.

It wasn't just Li Huowang who saw them; the others did, too, and they also saw the big machetes in their hands. "The bandits are here!! Run for it!!"

This cry of panic caused instant chaos among the people. Everyone hurriedly shouldered their belongings and scattered like birds and beasts.

"Damn it! We've been spotted! Bring the horses over quickly!!" The sound of hoofbeats swiftly followed, as the robbers, wielding their knives, chased after the pedestrians on the road.

"Make for the forest! Their horses can't run fast in the woods!!"

Hearing the old beggar shout this, the others hurriedly left the main road and rushed into the surrounding woods.

They fled, but someone like Li Huowang, with a donkey cart, couldn't escape; a donkey could never outrun a horse.

Hearing the sound of hooves coming from behind, Li Huowang quickly stopped and turned around, only to see a tall horse carrying a bearded bandit slashing at an old woman.

"Can't dodge it!" Li Huowang swiftly reached for an elixir pill and shoved it into his mouth; a surge of heat flowed through his body instantly.

Just as Li Huowang's feet pushed off the ground and he charged toward the thug—

The old beggar suddenly burst forth from the side, shoving the fallen old woman away.

Gao Deqiu on the horse glanced at the old beggar with disdain in his eyes. He didn't even raise his knife but instead pulled on the reins and, with the horse's hooves reared high, aimed straight for the man.

A cruel smile appeared on his face, anticipating the bloody scene that would follow. As a bandit, besides assaulting women, this was one of his favorite pleasures.

However, in the next moment, he saw a figure rush out in front and punch heavily on the horse's head.

"Bang!" Along with the horse's neigh, the forward-charging animal was forcefully redirected, toppling to the right.

Gao Deqiu, plummeting toward the ground, couldn't do anything; he could only watch the indented horse's eyes bulge wider and wider.

The next moment, followed by a dull thud, his head met the same fate as his horse's.

Seeing their companion slain, the other bandits quickly put their fingers to their mouths, whistling sharply for help.

However, Li Huowang, having consumed the Elixir refined by Master Danyang, made it clear to these ruffians that they had provoked someone they shouldn't have.

Thump after thump echoed on the dim, dusty road, and after several were taken down, the remaining bandits quickly fled in a panic.

"Fall back! This one's tough! Might be someone from the Astrological Bureau!"

Li Huowang stood there, his fists covered in blood, panting heavily.

Turning around, he looked at the old beggar behind him; after that encounter, he could be certain that if this guy wasn't a tiger, he was a pig.

Under Li Huowang's gaze, the old beggar stood up, walked to the front of a person killed by the bandits, knelt down with hands clasped together and murmured something in a low voice.

As Li Huowang approached, he could clearly hear what the man was chanting.

"Amitabha, Amitabha, Amitabha..."

The not-so-well-pronounced Amitabha was repeated over and over.

After chanting dozens of times, the old beggar walked to the edge of the woods and began using his hands to dig into the earth.